LET'S TALK ABOUT...OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER

From the 14th to the 16th century society believed that people who had O.C.D. symptoms was possessed by the devil. Otherwise, in the early 90’s Sigmund Freud associated Obsessive Compulsive behaviour to unconscious conflicts which were manifested as symptoms. He described a typical case that he called “touching phobia” and it starts in little children. It happens when someone wants to touch a specific item and without a reason this person forbids himself touching it. Furthermore, Freud discovered this prohibition doesn’t calm the person’s desire to touch. Quite the opposite, the desire becomes more and more intensive.

O.C.D. has become the fourth-most-common mental disorder. In the U.S. 1/50 adults suffer from it. Also, there are hundred million O.C. sufferers in the whole world. These people are meticulous, perfectionist, fixated on a cause or on someone/something.

Nowadays, O.C.D. is usually associated with people with higher I.Q. because they have more capacity than the other people to get obsess with something. Their mind is enough strong to think compulsively about certain things, maybe a thousand more times than our mind would do.

Generally, people consider obsessive compulsive persons paranoid or even psychotic. Nevertheless, O.C.D. sufferers recognize they’re acting in an irrational way and they might become even more distressed because of this realization.
O.C. people have repetitive and distressing thoughts which are called OBSESSIONS. Possibly, they do the same over and over again to try to make the thoughts disappear.
These repetitive actions are called COMPULSSIONS. They both interfere in their social life.

These people realize they have a problem. They use to feel guilty or ashamed about their incontrollable behaviour. Sometimes their families want to help them trying to make out the existence of O.C. symptoms or even collaborating in their rituals. Anyway, these are counterproductive actions.

Movies and television often make films or series about O.C.D. They’re aimed to make people aware of the existence of this illness and also try to make them understand and sympathize with the feelings and worries of people who are suffering from it.
My favourite movie about it is “As Good As It Gets” which is starring Jack Nicholson. He’s a magnificent actor so he performs his role perfectly. When we talk about a disease it seems a dramatic thing but this movie is completely the opposite side. They have created a comical story to tell of the experiences and worries of a middle-aged man who is the perfect example of an obsessive compulsive person. At first, everyone hates Nicholson’s character but while you’re watching the film you feel a kind of affection to him because you know that he cannot avoid his behaviour. I think that comedic films are the best way to talk about important things such as O.C.D. because people are able to learn about it and know the good side of the illness as well.

THINGS YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER...

-What is it?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder.

-O.C.D. is characteristic for its...

OBSESSIONS: Their main obsession is thinking or imaging that someone close to them could die if they don’t perform their habits.
There are also other obsessions: they sometimes believe that someone or something such as God, the Devil or diseases could harm them and their loved ones. Even in some cases they can feel that inanimate objects are alive.

Some people with O.C.D. experience sexual obsessions such as thoughts or images. In their mind they’re performing these actions with strangers, parents, children, friends…They can include contents of any sexual orientation with persons of any age. When an O.C. person is thinking about or imaging this can have obsessive fears and can live a crisis of sexual identity.

COMPULSIONS: They inexplicably feel they have to perform compulsive rituals. However, they believe that acting compulsively can sometimes mitigate their particular obsessive thoughts. Some common compulsions include specific things such as foot steps in specific ways and doing other repetitive actions.

-Who can suffer from it?

This illness is common in males and females. It often begins in the late teens for males and in the earlier twenties for females. However, some people begin having obsessive compulsive symptoms when they’re only a child.

-Causes:

Investigators believe that brain circuits may not work properly in people with O.C.D. It can be hereditary as well.

-Possible symptoms…

-Repetitive hand washing
-Extensive hoarding
-Preoccupation with sexual or aggressive impulses
-Preoccupation with particular religious beliefs
-Aversion to odd numbers
-Excessive skin picking
-Excessive hair plucking
-Excessive nail biting

They also can have atypical habits such as:

-Open and close a door certain number of times before they enter or leave a room

-Be really obsessed on having everything tidy and make it sure.

-Turn lights on and off

-Touch objects a certain number of times before leaving a room...

All these symptoms can be alienating. Moreover, these routines can be really time-consuming so they can cause instability and extreme preoccupation. These obsessions are not only temporally, they have to perform them every day. In short, O.C.D. can control a person’s life.

Many people can have these symptoms but an obsessive compulsive person feels he has to perform these irrational compulsions to avoid feelings of panic or dread.

-Is there any cure for this illness?

Treatments which combine medication and therapy are often effective. There are also a lot of people investigating about its causes and trying to find new therapies.

SOME EXTRA INFORMATION….

-Sometimes O.C.D. can be diagnosed with other mental diseases as anorexia nervosa or major depressive disorder.

-Patients with this disorder use to hid their symptoms a lot of time.

-Different types of O.C.D. :

• Washers and cleaners: These are people who eat away obsessions related to contamination by certain objects or situations.

• Verifiers: are people who inspect excessively in order to prevent a specific disaster occurs.

• Repeaters: are those individuals who insist on the execution of repetitive actions.

• Computers: These are people who demand that things around them are prepared in accordance with certain strict guidelines, including symmetric distributions.

• Batteries: collect objects insignificant, which can not discard.

• Mental ritualized, tend to appeal to repetitive thoughts or images, called mental compulsions in order to counteract their anxiety-provoking ideas and images, which are the obsessions.

• Paragraphs: searching for meaning to the numbers around them, summing, subtracting, and changing them until a significant number given to them.

• Philosophers: With trends somewhat uncertain. They live in a metaphysical process that can not discard.

• Tormented and pure obsessive: experience repeated negative thoughts that are uncontrollable and quite disturbing. However, unlike those who suffer other types of OCD behaviors are not delivered to repetitive physical, but mental processes only repetitive.

• Sex: recurrent sexual thoughts cover all the particularities and sexual behaviors, such as unfounded ideas about having sexual dysfunction or may not be desirable.

• Sexual Orientation: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is referred specifically to doubts, compulsions fixed ideas about homosexuality.